Question 1
Otto Von Bismarck was a renowned German nationalist who rose through the ranks to become the Prime Minister of Prussia and later went to become the first Chancellor of the unified German Empire in 1871. He came into power when modern day Germany was split up into different regions. Using the powerful Prussian army, Bismarck initiated fierce and decisive wars with Austria, France and Denmark to unite the 39 sovereign German states and regions under Prussian leadership.
Question 2
The National Liberal Party – This was the most renowned party and was mainly made up of national liberals who supported Bismarck and his policies. They generally favored a laissez faire economic policy and also backed a foreign policy that was based on the quest for power through the buildup of naval and military armaments.
The Centre Party- This party was representative of political Catholicism. Although it was mostly conservative on matters of social policy, it had a leftist wing that was more aggressive in championing for reforms in the national social policies. Most of the members of this party belonged to the Roman Catholic denomination.
The Conservative Party – It was composed of representatives of Conservatism. Aristocrats and large estate owners constituted most of party’s membership and generally pursued their economic interests.
The Progressive Party – Members of this party were opponents of Bismarck’s authoritarian rule. They campaigned for the powers of the German parliament to be extended so as to cut down on the authoritarian rule of Bismarck.
Question 3
Nationalism – This aspect made the citizens of a particular country to be extremely loyal to this country and as such, there was a lot of competition in a variety of aspects such as power, raw materials and product markets as countries tried to prove that they were more superior to their counterparts.
Militarism- There was a new trend among the European nations where military power underwent glorification. Consequently, an unprecedented arms race ensued in Europe.
Alliances – Countries that believed in the same course or who shared interests started to form alliances so as to defend these interests in a united way against their opponents.
Imperialism- There was a natural inclination of strong nations to dominate other nations and to generally impose their economic, social and political policies on them.
Question 4
Bismarck offered the industrial workers retirement benefits, health insurance and disability insurance so as to kindle the economic growth of Germany. The economic growth was to be brought about by the increased job security of the industrial workers. They would consequently be inspired to work even harder therefore spurring economic growth.
Question 5 and 6
- The mobilization of Russia would take a relatively long time (more than six weeks)
- Belgium and the Netherlands would offer no resistance to the advancing German army.
- The Germans would stage a surprise attack on the French and therefore prevent them mobilizing their forces and defending themselves
- The British would be discouraged by the relatively quick mobilization of the German forces and would therefore keep off.
Question 7
The Kulturkamph is the name given to a struggle between the Catholic Church and Otto Von Bismarck, a German Chancellor. Introduced by Bismarck, the Kulturkamph aimed to dispel, the influence of the Catholic Church particularly in the south and the surrounding states. It was however a failure as the influence of the Catholic Church only became stronger.
Question 8
A war of attrition is a war in which the country or nation that is left with the most number of men win s the war. In times of war, there is bound to be loss of men together with the running out of both money and weapons. Wars of attrition often influence military leaders to be conservative about sending men into the fore front because it could lead to the death of many troops.
Question 9
The German people viewed the Russian revolution as a means of slowing down the general aggressiveness of the standing Russian administration. The revolution provided a leeway for the Russian to withdraw from the World War I. This would ultimately allow the Germans to place maximum concentration on the Western Front and win the war as a result.
Question 10
The Unrestricted caused a lot of unwarranted loss of life. The Germans were notorious for sinking even passenger vessels belonging to their opponents. This loss of life was met with a lot of public criticism and the activity was halted. This was however not for long. Continuing sinking of vessels caused the United States to take a stand and declare war on Germany.
Question 11
After the signing of the Armistice, the blockade of medical supplies and food to Germany continued. The main aim of this strategy was to prevent a resurgence of the Germans’ military strength and to also suppress potential revolutionary upheavals. There were a lot of ethical questions associated with this and many wondered if the Triple Entente valued human life at all because there were a lot of people suffering in Germany as a result of the war.
Question 12
The area known as No Man’s Land was a piece of ground that stood between opposing forces. Both sets of the opposing forces had deep trenches on either side of No Man’s Land and for one to get into the land; you had to crawl under barbed wire. No Man’s Land was a common site in areas where the belligerents of the war met head to head.
Question 13
A free capitalistic economy in war times causes governments to overspend on national defense matters. As such, other areas are abandoned. For instance, air technology during the World War I did not undergo major development. Had the governments availed funds for other national development projects, such could have been avoided.
Question 14
Article 231 was known as the “The Guilt Clause”. This article appeared in Part VII of the “Reparations”. In the article, Germany accepted full blame for the initiation and the destruction associated with World War I and the other nations affirmed this acknowledgement.
Question 15
There was generally a gap between the enlisted and the officers during the World War I. The enlisted often felt inferior to their officer counterparts who tried to dominate them. This consequently led to a gap developing between them. It was not uncommon to witness such feature among all forces including those of the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente.
Question 16 and 17
The propaganda pictures were mainly used to spread propaganda against the Germans and their allies. These for instance evoked feelings of animosity and hatred towards the Germans. The images were developed by the nations opposing Germany and its allies. These nations included Britain, France and Russia.
Question 18
World War I is often describes as “the war Europe expected and the war that Europe got”. The meaning of this is that Europe was aware that a war would break out and the intensity of this was was also known. The statement was quite accurate because the period before the onset of the war was characterized by a lot of imperial unrest in Europe. Aspects such as militarism, nationalism and imperialism started to develop. There was craving for power by some nations while others prepared for total resistance. In general, there was an indication that the trends observed would inadvertently culminate into war.
Question 19
The role of Belgium in the initiation of World War was actually involuntary although pivotal. It started with the invasion of Belgium by the Germans who were looking for a shorter route to get to Paris. Obligated by an existing seventy five year old treaty with Belgium, the British had to protect the country and therefore declared war on Germany.
Question 20
Countries of the Triple Alliance
- Germany
- Austria-Hungary
- Italy
Countries of the Triple Entente
- Russia
- France
- Britain
Question 21
It is no doubt that Germany played a pivotal role in the initiation of World War I. Its craving for power and its subsequent invasion of other countries was one of the cause of the world war.
After the Austrian heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were killed in Serbia, there was a general anger from the Austrian government. It gave an ultimatum to Serbia and when this ultimatum was not met, it sough support of the Germans in invading the country. By the time it was able to do so; Serbia has already sought the support of Russia and had been granted to it. This was the onset of the war and several other countries including Italy, Britain and France joined in within a short period.
The leaderships of the fighting nations were blinded by their misguided notions about national destiny and character and as such, pushed their countries to the limit in the war. Each nation was eager to prove its superiority. Instead of using conventional and diplomatic ways to solve the war, the leaderships decide to use the war to solve their issues and this ultimately led to massive destruction and loss of life among all involved parties.
Works Cited
Orlow, Dietrich. A History of Modern Germany: 1871 to Present. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1987. Print.
Heyman, Neil M. World War I. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1997. Print.
Holborn, Hajo. A History of Modern Germany. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1959. Print.
The Great War ( A Complete History of World War I). DVD.
Turk, Eleanor L. The History of Germany. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1999. Print.
